The Augustan aqueduct in the contextof road system and urbanization

of the served territory in Southern Italy Giacinto Libertini, Bruno Miccio, Nino Leone and Giovanni De Feo

Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus

Divi Filius Augustus

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa,brotherly fellow of Augustus,

pivotal pillar of Augustus success and power,and builder of the Augustan aqueduct

IWA Regional Symposium on Water, Wastewater & Environment: Traditions and Culture

22-24 March 2014, Patras, Greece

Atella

Nola

Neapolis

Pompeii

Cumae

Acerrae

BavliBaia

HerculaneumMisenum

villae

Oplontis

PalepolisPuteoli

portus civilis (Puteoli)portus militaris

(Misenum)

villae

The Augustan aqueduct (Aqua Augusta) was exceptional in size (the main trunk about 103 km long, the branches about 60 km). It served 13 towns, the civil port of Puteoli (one of the two most important civil ports of the Empire, the other was Alexandria in Aegyptus), the military port of Misenum (one of the two most important military ports of the Empire, the other was Ravenna), and many villas of eminent figures.

Atella

Nola

Neapolis

Pompeii

Cumae

NuceriaSalernum

Acerrae

Suessula

Abellinum

Bavli

Baia

Herculaneum

Beneventum

Misenum

Teanum

Sinuessa

Volturnum

Liternum

Oplontis

PalepolisPuteoli

Minturnae

Formiae

Calatia

Capua

Caiatia

TelesiaTrebula

Casilinum

Caudium

Saticula

Cales

Urbula

Stabiae

Ad Novas

Ad Teglanum

Urbana

Ad Octavum

Forum Popilii

VicusFeniculensis

Here, the Augustan aqueduct is examined in the rich context of the cities and roads existing in the Roman age in the crossed area.In Roman times (like today), the area was very fertile and densely populated. Many ancient centers are still in existence and many ancient roads coincide with the modern road layouts.

Suessa

Allifae

Cubulteria

Atella Nola

Neapolis

Pompeii

Cumae

NuceriaSalernum

Acerrae

Suessula

Abellinum

Bavli

Baia

Herculaneum

Beneventum

Misenum

Teanum

Sinuessa

Volturnum

Liternum

Oplontis

PalepolisPuteoli

MinturnaeFormiae

Calatia

Capua

Caiatia

TelesiaTrebula

Casilinum

Caudium

Saticula

Cales

Urbula

Stabiae

Ad Novas

Ad Teglanum

Urbana

Ad Octavum

Forum Popilii

VicusFeniculensis

The centuriations existing in the same area were also considered.As it was (and is) a very fertile area, it was subdivided (“centuriated”) more times, creating a network of country roads (limites) whose paths are quite often still preserved, allowing the reconstruction of the grids of limites which are two millennia old!

Suessa

Allifae

Cubulteria

The presence of modern road layouts or borders, placed at regular intervals and with uniform orientations, allows the reconstruction of the original grid of a centuriation.

EXAMPLE 1Upper figure: Persistences related to two centuriations in the same area (Ager Campanus I, Gracchian age, purple color, and Ager Campanus II, Sullan and Caesarean age, green color).

Lower figure: the two reconstructed grids.

The centuriations (centuriationes), in their typical form, were regular subdivisions of a territory by a network of unpaved country roads (limites), which defined a series of square areas, called centuriae, in general assigned to war veterans.

Lower figure:Parts of the reconstructed grids of four centuriations (Suessula [yellow], Ager Campanus I [purple], Ager Campanus II [green], Acerrae-Atella I [violet]), the roads of the area [red], walls and amphiteater of Suessula [yellow]

Upper figure: The area to the north of the ancient city of Suessula, where only few sparse ruins are found

EXAMPLE 2

Atella

Nola

Neapolis

PompeiiNuceria

Acerrae

Suessula

Abellinum

Herculaneum

Beneventum

Teanum

Sinuessa

Volturnum

Liternum

Ad NovasCalatia

Capua

Casilinum

MinturnaeTrebula

Caiatia

Saticula

Telesia

Caudium

Palepolis

Oplontis

Formiae

Cales

Urbula

Stabiae

Ad Teglanum

Urbana

Ad Octavum

Forum Popilii

VicusFeniculensis

The persistences of centuriation limites’ in the area crossed by the aqueduct or near it.

The grids inferred from them have limites in all thousands of kilometers long!

Suessa

Cumae

Bavli

Baia

Misenum

Puteoli

Allifae

Cubulteria

Salernum

Abellinum

aqueduct of Beneventum

First segment - From the source to the "caduta della Laura" (fall of the Laura, included) (371 -> 205 m above sea level (“asl”); 18 km)

fall of the Laura

Short description of the Augustan aqueduct and of the surrounding areas

Nuceria

Urbula

Ad Teglanum

Second segment – From the “caduta della Laura” (fall of the Laura, excluded) to monte Paterno tunnel (included) (205 -> 70 m asl; 16.4 km)- It passed near the town of Nuceria Alfaterna, the third or fourth of Campania for population (not served by the aqueduct)

monte Paterno tunnel

fall of the LauraTerravecchia

place

Ad Teglanum

Pompeii Nuceria

Oplontis

Urbula

Third segment - From Monte Paterno tunnel (excluded) to the branch points for Nola and Pompeii (70 -> 50 m asl; 13.7 km)- Around the valley of Sarnum (Sarno) river, up to the watershed with Clanium (Regi Lagni) basin

monte Paterno tunnel

fall of the Laura

(1883)

Mura d’Arce (today)

Nola Abellinum

Branch for Nola (6.9 km)- The great Vergilius complained that he had not obtained the privilege of a private water connection for his villa in Nola

Nola

Villa Augusti

Ad Teglanum

Abella

Tirone place

Pompeii

villa Augusti

Oplontis

Herculaneum

Ad Teglanum

Urbula

villa papyri

villa Poppaea

castellum aquae

Nuceria

Branch for Pompeii, Oplontis, Herculaneum (12.4 km up to the sub-branch for Pompeii + 12.9 km from Pompeii to Herculaneum = 25.3 km)

Pompeii

Oplontis

PompeiiThe grid of Nuceria II centuriation is all around the site of the buried city. This demonstrates that the area was again subdivided and cultivated after the 79 AD eruption

villa Poppaea

castellum aquae

Nola

Acerrae

villa Augusti

Fourth segment - From the branch points for Nola and Pompeii to the branching point for Acerrae (50 -> 47 m asl; 13.8 km) + Branch for Acerrae (6 km).- Villa Augusti “apud Nolam”, the place chosen by Augustus for his last days

great canal bridge (3.5 km)

Ad Teglanum

Atella

Nola

Neapolis

Pompeii

Cumae

Nuceria

Acerrae

Suessula

Abellinum

Capua

Baia

Herculaneum

Beneventum

Misenum

Calatia

Bavli

Caudium

Abella

Ad Teglanum

Urbula

Liternum

Urbana

Puteoli

VicusFeniculensis

villa Augusti

Casilinum

Ad Octavum

Ad Novas

Saticula

Villa Augusti in its context: - surrounded by “client” towns and by centuriations assigned to Augustus’ war veterans;- encircled by the Augustan aqueduct with a view on the great canal bridge

other (undefined) Augustan centuriations

Oplontis

Palepolis

Monumental entrance of Augustus’ villa

Atella

Acerrae

Villa Augusti

Fifth segment - From the branch for Acerrae to the branching point for Atella (47 -> 44 m asl; 4.5 km) Branch for Atella (8.8 km), famous for its fabulae atellanae (theater comedies)

great canal bridge (3.5 km)

Atella

Acerrae

A general view of the area of Capua, Atella, Acerrae, Suessula, Calatia, the core of Campania felix

Capua

Calatia

Nola

Suessula

Vicus Feniculensis

Liternum

Saticula

Ad Novas

Casilinum

Neapolis

Sixth segment - From the branch point for Atella to the “Ponti Rossi” (“red bridges”, included) (44 -> 41 m asl; 7.4 km)

great canal bridge (3.5 km)

Ponti Rossi

Neapolis

Palepolis

Seventh segment - From the Ponti Rossi (excluded) to the tunnel for "Fuorigrotta" (included) (41 - > 40 m asl; 8 km)First branch for Neapolis (0.05 km up to the walls); Second branch for Neapolis (0.7 km);Branch for Palepolis (Partenope) (0.5 km)

Belisarius’ entry point (536 AD)

castellum aquae (destroyed in the 15th century)

thermal baths

Branch for Pausylipon (the famous villa of Vedius Pollio, bequeathed to Augustus, 5.5 km)Branch for Nisida (5.2 km). On this small island there were the villas of Lucius Licinius Lucullus, famous for his “lucullian” dinners and of Marcus Iunius Brutus, one of the main Caesar’s murderers

Palepolis

Pausylipon(villa of Vedius Pollio)

Nisida

thermal baths

Seiano grotto (770 m)

villas of Lucullus and of Brutus

Puteoli

Eighth segment - From the tunnel for “Fuorigrotta” (excluded) to Puteoli (40 -> 38 m asl; 7.8 km)- Puteoli had a very important civil harbour, was the second town of Campania for population, and had the third greater amphiteatre (after Roma and Capua) in all the Roman empire

local aqueduct

piscinae

thermae

Serapeumamphitheatrum

Puteoli

Cumae

Avernus lacus

Baia

Ninth segment - From Puteoli to the branching point for Cumae (38 -> 36 m asl; 5.5 km)- Cumae was heavily fortified and there was even a large military tunnel (Cocceius tunnel, nearly a kilometer in length) which connected it with the lake of Avernus, used for a certain time as military harbour

Cocceius military tunnel (1 km)

Arco Felice

local aqueduct

Cumae

Bavli

Baia Puteoli

Misenum

Tenth segment - From the branching point for Cumae to the cisterna Dragonara (36 -> 0 m asl; 8.4 km)

portus militaris

portus civilis

piscina mirabiliscisterna Dragonara

Cumae

local aqueduct

Cumae, Greek center founded in the 8th century BC, was a very important city and played a key role in the origins of Western civilization.

Cumae founded Dicearchia (Puteoli), Partenope (Palepolis), Neapolis, and many other centers.

Cumae defeated the Etruscans of Capua in 524 BC, then - allied with the Latins - the Etruscans again in 504 BC, freeing Roma from the Etruscan domination, and finally - allied with Syracusae - the Etruscan fleet in 474 BC.

The Latin alphabet, the most widely used alphabet in the world, is practically the Greek alphabet as it was written and pronounced in Cumae: it was adopted by the Romans with some minor modifications.

Often, studying great structures of the ancient world, as the Augustan aqueduct, little attention is devoted to the framing of the structure in the general context of the civitates and the area served. In our case, the persistent tracks of the routes of many centuriation limites (extended in all for thousands of kilometers!) and of ancient roads are quantitatively very noteworthy and impressive.

In this context, a service structure as the Augustan aqueduct is evident in its full meaning as a very important element in a more general and complex organization.

Conclusion

This brief exposition is certainly very limited in relation to the richness of the subject and it clearly indicates the need for a more detailed study. This is the potential prelude for further enrichments based on the rational integration of data of different types, not limited to the archaeological data and the classical literary sources.

Thanks for your attention!

Capua